Finding Kerf for your Material

[stanleycampbell]

I found this on Boxes.py
Put in your Material Thickness, the number where you want to start testing the Kerf thickness. Generate the test.

Boxes - BurnTest

[markevans36301]

Kool, they have formalized what I dubbed “the kerfnator” and many/most? of us have been doing for quite some time. I’ll bookmark this and try to remember to try it.

[o-o]

Wow.

I understand kerf and I can’t figure out what that site is doing. Clear as mud.

I just use this simple kerf measurement jig, then build that into my designs where needed.

HOWTO: Kerf Measurement and Jig

Understanding the interaction between your tools and materials is critical to making parts that fit well. A key metric to understand is kerf: the amount of material removed by a cut. Compensating for kerf is the difference between joints that are sloppy or that fit with just the right amount of force. Even though a laser cutter removes only a fine amount of material, that slight difference in dimension between your plans and the physical material adds up. It’s worth noting that your kerf can…

[stanleycampbell]

Try Putting in a Kerf Value like 0.005 and hit the Generate button. I think that will help if you see a visual. About the only things you need to change are Kerf if none of them fit together or the Thickness of your material. It will print 4 pieces (you can change that) 2 matching sets that you can try and join together to see what fits best. hope this helps.

[stoli]

I’m beta testing the new version of Box-o-matic, and it now includes a much more compact kerf tester. I’ve included a sample svg below. The small “key” gets cut out of the center, and you check which of the sides gives you the fit you want.

[davidgal2]

Neat idea.